Looking for the perfect drink for an end of summer party or festive occasion? There are always the quintessential classics, but it’s fun to customize some drinks with a new, signature twist. Summer is filled with such luscious fruits, the perfect opportunity to change up some of our favorites! One drink that’s especially adaptable is the Moscow Mule. You only need a few key elements for a successful Moscow Mule, and the rest of the ingredients allow for creativity and customization. Our current Moscow Mule obsession? Raspberry Watermelon Moscow Mules! See our recipe below.

The inspiration for this summer drink comes from two things: the wild raspberries are out in full force the garden this time of year, and we want an excuse to use our new pure copper Kamojo Moscow Mule Copper Flutes Set

WHY A PURE COPPER DRINKING VESSEL IS IMPORTANT FOR MOSCOW MULES

While you can serve a Moscow Mule in just about any kind of glass, copper is preferable. I prefer the Kamojo Moscow Mules because the pure copper has a tarnish resistant coating, so they stay beautiful and shiny without having to polish them, making them easy to clean. We previously touted what we love about the classic mug style Kamojo Moscow Mules in a beginning of summer Moscow Mule recipe, Kamojo also makes a copper champagne flute set for a festive, more formal, or celebratory event.

Kamojo Moscow Mule Copper Flute

I also like the pretty hammered pure copper with its’ tarnish-resistant high-shine and the beautiful shape, it adds something to the overall visual appeal of the drink and looks so distinctive!

What’s a good type of drink to serve in a copper champagne flute? As a rule: if it’s bubbly or fizzy – copper kicks that carbonated or bubbly action it up a notch: any seltzer, soda, beer and of course, champagne or prosecco. Also, if it’s a drink best served cold, copper is your best bet.

The reason for this is copper does two things: it quickly makes cold ingredients colder, and bubbly ingredients bubblier. That’s why a copper vessel is a key to a good Moscow Mule, especially for a summertime drink.

Pure copper immediately chills the drink and keeps it cold on contact

Copper also enhances the flavor of some ingredients, enhancing the crisp, citrus and sour notes of go-to ingredients like ginger, lime, and cucumbers.

The pure copper in the Kamojo Moscow Mule Copper Flutes Set enhances the flavors of mint, berries, lime, and ginger and even makes vodka taste better

INGREDIENT CHOICES

A key ingredient to a Moscow Mule is ginger beer. Ginger adds the kick to the mule and is generally obtained from ginger beer or in a pinch, a quality brewed ginger ale. The ginger ale is sweeter, the ginger beer is tarter and for some, might need the addition of simple syrup. I also like to add a thin slice of fresh ginger as part of a garnish or muddled at the bottom of the drinking vessel, or if you prefer your drinks a bit sweeter, a ginger simple syrup can be used.

Copper enhances the taste of fresh ginger and ginger beers and ginger ales

FRUITY INCLUSION OPTIONS

Lime and ginger are the core classics of the mule, and plenty of fruits taste great with both of them.

Copper enhances the lime and berries taste and increases carbonation of ginger beers and ales

Store bought and wild raspberries are abundant and delicious this time of year.

Reed’s brews both a gluten-free ginger beer and ginger ales with real cane sugar and they are pretty good in mules. Their raspberry ginger ale has all the kick and fizzy features of a ginger beer. Raspberry Ginger Beer or Ale makes sense in a mule, as so many of the ingredients in a Moscow Mule taste great with raspberries: raspberry and lime, raspberry and mint, raspberry and ginger. But it still needs something to make it more summer, and a bit juicer and sweeter: like watermelon!

Ice cold Ginger Beer or Ale blends well with summer fruits and vodka

Raspberry Ginger Ale or Beer brews taste great in a fruity Moscow Mule when paired with fresh berries, mint, and lime

But lots of fruit combinations work: blackberries, lime, plum or pear and cantaloupe is a delicious alternative option, the cantaloupe and plum sweetly temper the ginger and the blackberries add a nice sweet but tart note. Or another option that goes surprisingly well with the ginger is lemon and fig!

Cantaloupe mellows the sharp ginger and citrus notes, mint and blackberries add a subtle sweet taste to the blend

Substitute cantaloupe juice for watermelon juice in the recipe below, and pair it with blackberries

Cantaloupe and blackberries paired with lime, mint and ginger taste wonderful in a copper flute

Summer fruits peak Ginger Beers and Ales and contrast nicely with the citrus flavor of the lime. Any berry works wonderfully to add some flavor to this traditional drink

Summer watermelon, fresh ginger, lime, combined with raspberries and mint fresh from the garden make for tasty combination

DIRECTIONS

Juice the limes. Set aside remaining lime slices for garnishing.

Make watermelon juice. Put watermelon chunks in a blender, discard pulp if desired, pour the juice into a jar or glass, put aside.

Muddle together a few raspberries, and lightly press a mint leaf and a thin slice of ginger (if desired). Pour the resulting mix into the copper mule.

Add the lime juice over the muddled mix.

Fill mule champagne with crushed or slushie ice, over the muddled mix. Halfway through adding ice, I like to toss in a few more berries and then another squeeze of the lime to fully infuse the drink.

Add the vodka

Add the melon juice

Add the ginger beer

Add simple syrup if desired for sweetness

Garnish with plenty of fresh mint sprigs, berries, lime or even a small watermelon wedge if desired!

Garnish with plenty of mint sprigs!

Close-up aerial view of the raspberries, mint and lime garnish in a Raspberry Melon Moscow Mule served in a Kamojo Moscow Mule Copper Flute

ALTERNATIVES

Some may prefer a “neater” approach to mix the lime juice, vodka, melon juice, and in a shaker with the spent limes and giving the mix a good shake, then pour that shaker mix through a strainer into the ice filled mule glass, and then add the ginger beer to the mule.

Adjust measurements to taste, some extra lime particularly enhances the berries and watermelon!

Extra lime enhances the berry and watermelon flavors, we added a halved lime to each mule

SOFT ICE

Notice reference to soft ice above. Soft ice is not as hard as ice cubes, but harder than slushie ice. It is often served at Drive-In type restaurants, which remind me of the summers of my youth.

Due to the lovely flute shape of the Kamojo Moscow Mule Copper Flutes Set, you may prefer crushed or soft ice. It is easy to make yourself at home with a big bottle of carbonated water like seltzer water.

Fill smaller to medium-size ice-cube trays with the seltzer, let them set a few hours. Right before using them, give them one or two hard whacks to break them up a bit. While soft ice tends to melt quickly in a regular drink, the copper mules keep them suspended in soft ice form for much longer without melting.

CONCLUSION

So many events and milestones are worth celebrating, engagements, promotions, graduations, weddings, just to name a few. Champagne is often the go-to libation for celebrating, but it is fun to change it up a bit with a mule themed drink, and it still feels festive and celebratory when served in Kamojo Moscow Mule Copper Flutes Set.

A traditional bakery not far from the Yale University Campus, we get all our special occasion cakes here! From now on, any event or celebration worthy of a bakery cake qualifies as an excuse to use the Kamajo Copper Champagne Flutes

Kamajo Copper Champagne Flutes are ideal as wedding flutes for the bride and groom or even the entire bridal party, or to serve appetizers such as shrimp cocktail.

Sitting pretty atop a dresser, yet ideal for travel or destination weddings, the Langria Jewelry Box looks like a vintage styled handbag, but inside there are ten velvet lined storage compartments to safely & securely hold a variety of jewelry.

The Langria Jewelry Box

Do you love handmade jewelry or vintage jewelry finds? Several heirloom pieces, second-hand jewels, vintage pieces as well as handmade jewelry often do not come with the original box to keep the jewelry safe, or the gift box or bag is just intended to present the jewelry, not to protect it in storage. I like the soft velvet interior and the multiple compartments of the Langria Jewelry Box that makes for ideal storage for “loose” or unboxed jewelry.

LANGRIA JEWELRY BOX DESIGN FEATURES

Something that frustrates me about many jewelry cases is that the layout often doesn’t suit the needs of my jewelry collection. The Langria Jewelry Box has ten sections that comprise seven types of storage compartments within the three layers of the jewelry case. This functional, multi-compartment design keeps jewelry organized and separate from other pieces to avoid scratching or tangling.

The Langria Jewelry Box

THE LANGRIA JEWELRY CASE LAYOUT

On the underside of the case lid, below the mirror, there is an elasticized fabric pouch pocket for holding especially small or delicate items such as small sentimental keepsake items, shoe clips, or hair jewelry. The elastic is secure, and items do not slip out when the case is closed.

The Langria Jewelry Box

The uppermost section of compartments is open-face.

In the rear of the case is a velvet lined ring roll section with eleven slots to hold rings, earrings, or pins/broaches. For small, simple rings, two rings may fit per slot. The padding is deep so that even a larger ring is securely kept in place with adequate room between each ring.

The front of the uppermost section divides into thirds:

The left front third is a full velvet lined compartment for holding larger pins, broaches, necklaces, or dangling earrings.

The middle front third section has a lid with a handle to provide extra protection for one or two small to mid-size pieces.

The right front third section has three removable horizontal dividers that could hold cufflinks, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets.

The Langria Jewelry Box

Beneath the top open-face compartment section are two pull-out drawers (one narrow full-width drawer and one deep drawer with two sections).

The narrow drawer easily holds several necklaces and bracelets.

The deep drawer is suitable for jewelry in a drawstring bag, ring or bracelet boxes, or for holding loose pieces such as bracelets, broaches, bangles or a watch.

The Langria Jewelry Box

WHAT MAKES THE LANGRIA JEWELRY BOX SPECIAL?

While this case looks pretty on a dresser, I particularly like that the jewelry box is shaped like a vintage style hard case handbag, and it has a notably sturdy wear-proof handle to carry the case. This portability makes it a very useful item for transporting jewelry for various occasions.

PORTABLE JEWELRY STORAGE

TRAVEL: In addition to holding jewels at home, I like that the sturdy wear-proof handle and case construction makes the Langria Jewelry box ideal for traveling with jewelry. Some events that it would be particularly useful include destination weddings (helpful for the bride, bridal party or wedding guest), for extended business trips, vacations, and special occasion events. Jewelry packed within luggage can get lost or stolen; the Langria box is “purse-sized” at 8.9 x 6.1 x 7.5 inches, it weighs about a pound and can be kept discretely in a carry-on bag.

WEDDING JEWELRY CASE: Wedding jewelry comes in many forms: Heirloom pieces with sentimental value, handmade jewelry, delicate vintage jewelry finds, rented and borrowed jewelry, and pieces purchased just for the wedding. What do all these have in common? They all will require being stored and transported safely and then held securely before and after the wedding. I find this the perfect size for holding both the bride’s and groom’s jewelry, bridesmaids’ jewelry, or just the jewelry of the bride including the rings, necklace, bracelets, and hair jewelry.

ADDITIONAL DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

A stylish vintage look, the Langria case comes in three colors. We got the black.

Each compartment is velvet lined to keep jewelry scratch-free.

The ring roll is heavily padded to give rings enough room yet hold them in place.

It is very sturdy, and the drawers and compartments are solid.

It comes with a key lock on a secure double level closure that snaps shut to keep the jewels safe.

It has an embossed crocodile pattern, patent leather look.

There is a small, accurate reflection mirror.

The Langria Jewelry Box

GIFT IDEA

The Langria Jewelry Case makes for a gift for someone developing a jewelry collection, for someone who has an overflowing jewelry collection or makes jewelry, or for a destination wedding bride to hold her wedding jewelry, for a young woman going away to college who may wish to keep her jewelry safe under lock and key. It also makes for a nice bridesmaids gift, especially if bridesmaids are wearing jewelry or hairpieces to the wedding.

CONCLUSION

The Langria Jewelry Case has a vintage handbag shape with a sturdy handle, making it an ideal a carry-on piece to safely transport expensive or sentimental jewels in a scratch-proof, locked case to keep your jewelry with you safely while traveling. I like that the multiple compartments keep my jewelry safe, and that dangling earrings have their space, there are adequate slots for my rings without crowding them, and necklaces remain tangle free because they are stored separately. Ideal for travel or home use, this is a highly versatile jewelry case!

Style Chicks received this product in exchange for our unbiased review and received compensation for our time and effort. However, our experience with the product and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% ours.

Ever thought your makeup was perfectly natural looking at home, only to be shocked at how garish it looks in the bathroom mirror at the office?

Me too.

To prevent such shocks and actually know how you will look during the day, it is good to check your makeup in different kinds of lighting. Hopefully, you will be in more flattering lighting, you will likely be in worse lighting sometime during the day, but your vanity lighting is likely a more flattering light than you will encounter during the day. So an adjustable light is a great thing to have on a makeup table.

I like Smarson Bluetooth LED Light Bulb for this purpose. As the name would indicate, it is a LED Light Bulb with Bluetooth connectivity. Better yet, it can be used in any standard socket – I’m able to use it in my great-grandmother’s table lamp that is already on my vanity table.

Smarson Bluetooth LED Light Bulb

The features of the bulb are controlled by the Smarson App, which is available for both iOS and Android. It is a free download, and it is both easy to set up and highly intuitive.

I have the Phillips Hue system, but there is so much more flexibility with the Smarson Light Bulb system. Additionally, the quality of the light is much better: with the Smarson system, the colors are deep and rich, and can be subtly tweaked to whatever lighting scheme you are seeking.

First, you can pick the color from a color wheel of 16 million colors, and then change the brightness of the colors. There are pre-programmed functions like cross-fade for dynamic color shows.

Smarson Bluetooth LED Light Bulb

Second, there is a programmable timer feature. Want to fall asleep to a certain soothing color? Want to have a bright light in the house when you get home from work? You can program all of that quickly right from the app.

Third, this is an energy saving bulb. I am amazed that so many features and such powerful lighting are built into an energy efficient device!

I adore the camera feature, which allows you to take a picture of an object, and the light will match it. It is great if you are looking to coordinate your outfit, or you want to check how you will look in a particular light.

I am impressed by the amount of deeply saturated light that the one bulb produced. For events such as a wedding, consider purchasing enough of these bulbs to illuminate your venue if you can decorate the space yourself. Find a friend with a good eye to control the lights throughout the event. Since each light can be controlled individually from the app, you can create different lighting schemes for different areas, or change them all at once (the app can control five lights at a time.) You can change the lights through the night, with various colors for the meal, dancing, cake, etc. A professional lighting team would cost thousands, and you can use these bulbs yourself after the event. You can even sync the lighting to your music, which is a great feature.

It is the season for weddings, which also means it is the season for anniversaries and lots of them.

I like having a few presents on hand for unexpected gift giving occasions, parties or anniversary gifting obligations that I forget about until the last minute. This Matashi Ornament makes for a great gift because it is a modern twist on a classic design idea. I like this type of gift item because it can match the decor of a modern or traditional style decor. At times, I have gift obligations at work for a co-worker, boss or client, and know nothing about their taste, so a good traditional piece with a modern appeal is always a safe choice when gift-giving in a working relationship.

ABOUT MATASHI
Matashi is a crystal design house with a Japanese origin. It started in 1995. An artistic design studio with craftspersons who use fine materials with an Oriental design flair to form their collections of music boxes, jewelry boxes, nightlights, desktop novelties, wind chimes, and ornaments. All Matashi collections exhibit premium Matashi crystals. Each item, including this anniversary ornament, come with a serial number, authenticity certificate, and warranty.

ABOUT THE ANNIVERSARY ORNAMENT DESIGN
The ornament is well constructed. It is 24k gold plated and has two faceted precision cut crystal hearts that catch the light and give an eye-catching sparkle. The crystals are well secured.

PACKAGING
The ornament comes with a tasteful drawstring bag and gift tissue inside of a gift box. The gift box looks expensive and reminds me of the higher quality gift boxes that come with some crystal gift items from museums like the MET. It comes with a gift card that you can sign so everything is nicely packaged and ready to give to the recipient. The packaging is sturdy enough for storage purposes so it can be displayed each year.

USES
While it is not the intended use in the strictest sense, the ornament is sized just right to be used as a cake topper for an anniversary cake or placed on the dessert table at an anniversary party. If you are someone who entertains frequently, and you are often the one to host the anniversary parties, this makes for a classic design element on cakes, cupcake towers, at the table, or by the bar during your celebration.

A display piece that fits into various design decors, this also makes a piece that is suitable for an office setting to convey discretely that the owner of the ornament is in a relationship.

Since it does not denote a numerical year, this ornament is suitable for any anniversary, not just the “golden” anniversary.

I received this product in exchange for my unbiased review and received compensation for my time and effort. However, my experience with the product and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine.